Red poppies in history and perfumery

A poppy seed is a symbol of everything the smallest, maybe even insignificant, and picking poppy seeds is a symbol of the impossibility of doing anything or just a huge difficulty.

Hungry, to show the degree of hunger, says: "I haven't had poppy dewdrops in my mouth since morning."

The poppy flower was dedicated to many ancient deities, for example, the goddess of the harvest - Ceres (Demeter), because it grows in the fields among the cereals, which she patronized. Ceres statues have always been depicted with a poppy in hand. The ancient Greeks believed that the poppy grew out of the tears of Aphrodite (Venus), which she shed when she learned about the death of her beloved Adonis.

Poppy was considered an attribute of the god of sleep Hypnos and his brother, the god of death - Thanatos. Therefore, the god of sleep was always depicted as a young man with poppy heads in his hands or with a wreath of poppy flowers, and the god of death was also depicted with a wreath of poppies, but with black wings and in a black robe. Poppy is the flower of the god of sleep Hypnos and his son, the god of dreams Morpheus. Ancient Romans they said: "When Morpheus wants to put someone to sleep or to cast pleasant dreams on him, he only touches him with a poppy flower."

Who was the first to notice the hypnotic effect of poppy, and who was the first to start extracting juice from this plant - it's hard to say. However, the ancient Egyptians already had poppy sleeping pills. They grew it near the city of Thebes and used it as a medicine. The ancient Greeks and Romans did not know the smoking value of opium and used it as an analgesic and sedative, sometimes leading to death.

So the poppy is also a symbol of sleeping pills, personifying sleep, and sometimes even death ... In 1804, the Hanoverian pharmacist Serturner received a chemical alkaloid - morphine, which was used as a pain reliever. Unfortunately, the fascination with this beneficial property of morphine leads to the most sad and sometimes tragic consequences.

The milky poppy juice is called "opium", which in Greek means "poppy juice". Opium smoking originated in Muslim countries, where, according to the law of Mohammed, the use of wine and all alcoholic beverages is prohibited. For many, this hobby was disastrous. Smoking opium in a short time destroys health and turns people into slaves to their passion.

In the history of China there are black pages written by the hand of England, flipping through which you can learn about the shameful trade of this poison by the British, but the whole story is about this - a tragic story.

And meanwhile, how beautiful the blooming field of this poison looks! The flowers are wonderful and bright, the sea of ​​flowers. “I looked, and it seemed to me that every flower breathes, lives, laughs. A hot breeze came - the flowers were agitated and straightened up again, ”one of the travelers described a poppy field in China.

But that's not all. Poppy seeds also serve as a means of spells, that is, they are used in witchcraft. And the people say that these are not flowers, but the blood of killed soldiers, which rises to us from the ground and, having turned into poppy flowers, asks us to pray for the repose of their souls.

These are the poppy stories we know from the biography of the poppy, and that's not all.

In Russia, the cultivation of opium poppy or sleeping poppy (Papaver somniferum L.)... And this is not a violation of people's freedom, but just sensible laws that help preserve the health and morality of the people of the entire country.

Poppies come in many different types, and most of them grow in arid places - steppes, semi-deserts, rocky mountain slopes and even deserts. Poppies grow in the southern part of the Caucasus, in the steppes of Altai, Eastern Siberia and Central Asia.

Poppy is a symbol of sensuality and sin, peace and destruction at the same time. He has acquired both a positive and a negative reputation, and a trail of mysticism follows him.And yet, let's dwell on the best properties of his character. For example, the color of poppies is red with a little orange added. A very young girl is compared with him, blossoming like a poppy flower.

Poppy is used in both perfumery and cosmetics. In the Clarins laboratory, new properties of poppy have been discovered. Field poppy seed extract inhibits the activity of lipin, a protein that is involved in the conversion of carbohydrates into fat cells. Based on this property, they are used in creams to combat cellulite.

Poppy seeds are used in confectionery. But let's dwell on perfumery.

Here are some examples of the use of poppy in famous perfumes.

Victoria's Secret Bombshell Italian Iris Victoria`s Secret - a fragrance for women, belongs to the group of floral fragrances, released in 2013. In the composition there are notes of Italian iris, poppy and orris root.

Bombshell Diamonds EDP Victoria`s Secret - a fragrance for women from the floral - fruity group. The fragrance was launched in 2012. Top notes of raspberry, pink pepper, passionfruit and pear, white lily, jasmine, lychee, poppy and plum in the heart, warm notes of sandalwood, musk, sensual white amber, sweet vanilla and white cedar.

Mashkoor Al Haramain Perfumes - a fragrance for women, belongs to the group of oriental floral fragrances. The composition contains notes that are bright and warm at the same time, sensual and gentle, passionate and romantic: tangerine, almond and poppy; white lily, peony and orchid; musk, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, rose and woody notes.

Bouquet de coquelicots perlier - a fragrance for women. The fragrance belongs to the floral group.

And you should certainly remember the oriental scent called "Red poppy"manufactured at the factory "New Dawn" in 1927-1928 in the Soviet Union. Perfume "Red Poppy", does not smell like poppies, this fragrance was inspired by the premiere of Glier's ballet "Red Poppy" and had many fans for almost half a century.

Then in the 50s appeared the perfume and cologne "Poppy", but this perfumery already belonged to a lower category than the "Red Poppy". Perfume "Red Poppy" is an outstanding piece of perfumery art, which mystylex.techinfus.com/en/ will devote a separate publication.